Bug Squad

Welcome to the Bug Squad blog! The Bug Squad blog was launched Aug. 6, 2008 and is a daily blog (Monday through Friday). It showcases entomologists and the work they do. The blog focuses on scientists in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, the UC Davis Bee Haven, and assorted campuswide events, including UC Davis Picnic Day, UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, and Bohart Museum open houses. The blog spotlights insects, including bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and praying mantises, as well as arachnids such as jumping spiders and crab spiders. Author and photographer is Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and a longtime journalist and community scientist with two degrees from Washington State University. She is a member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE). Her blog posts and images have won international awards from ACE and ESA and appeared on journal and magazine covers. She shoots primarily with a Nikon Z-8 mirrorless camera, a Nikon D500 and Nikon 800, with assorted macro lenses. Feedspot lists it as one of the top entomology blogs on the Internet.

IN THE LAB--UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes works in the lab. His research on the apple maggot and a parasitic wasp will be published Feb. 6 in the journal Science. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Biodiversity Creates Biodiversity

February 5, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Biodiversity creates biodiversity. That point comes through loud and clear when you read the scientific paper on the apple maggot/parasitic wasp research led by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes. The news embargo lifted at 11 a.m. today and the research will be published Friday, Feb.

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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS--The nymph (bright red) of the soapberry bug scurries down a tree trunk. (Photo by James Moerhke)

Shoulder to Shoulder

February 4, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Vacaville resident James Moehrke was out geocaching last weekend in the Vaca Valley Parkway-East Monte Vista Avenue area of the city when he spotted some red-shouldered black bugs. "There were many clusters, probably thousands of individuals, in the trees and a few on the ground," he recalled.

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DEDICATION--Entomologist Bruce Hammock,a distinguished professor at UC Davis, confers with a researcher at a recent meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Hammock holds a joint appointment in Cancer Research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology, and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory.(Photo by K

A Sense of Urgency

February 3, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a sense of urgency.

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HONEY BEE ON DAPHNE--The daphne is known for its scented flowers--but beware those poisonous berries. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

No Pork Barrel Politics Here

February 2, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey bee insurance buzzed into the news Feb. 1 when Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared on the CBS Show, "Face the Nation" and blasted the state of the economy and President Obama's economic stimulus plan.

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PERFECT CAKE FOR AN ENTOMOLOGIST--What's a perfect birthday cake for an insect scientist? One with bugs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bug Stops Here

January 30, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Its Friday, so it must be Friday lite When youre hosting a birthday party for an entomologist, you have to think bugs. Thats the rule. Its written right there in the Entomological Society of Americas official guidebook, Chapter 10, Page 387, Line 38. (OK, I made that up.

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